War Office publishing of yesteryear

This being further notice of the books from the War Office first noticed at the end of September at the end of reference 1. With the two books noticed there having grown to three in the interval.

The two volumes of reference 2 weigh in at around 100 and 150 pages, bound between substantial green boards getting on for an eighth of an inch thick and reinforced with some kind of green tape to the left. The binding is loose leaf in form, but bound with substantial white string through the holes, rather than with spring loaded split steel rings. Designed to survive knocking around in a company office or in a haversack. Complete with an amendment record pasted inside the front cover: all very organised, except that no-one has bothered to record the application of any amendments, so we don't know what the amendment status of either volume is.

The subject matter is keeping the peace when so requested by the civil authorities. The wording suggests that the manual was applicable in the UK, although the material therein was probably developed in Malaya, Cyprus and Kenya and was presumably primarily intended for colonial rather than home use. It is expected that some of those breaking the peace will be Communists, Nationalists or both. It is recognised that there may well be indigenous people who 'regard the country as their own by birth and tradition'.

I learn from Part 1, that provision was made for fully armed response, including armour, artillery, and air support from both fighters and bombers - although there were some cautionary words about large bomb craters. Maybe the army in Northern Ireland has its own manual.

Part 1 is fairly theoretical, setting the scene, as it were. While Part 2 is more by way of a cook book for the chaps on the ground. We get, for example, a diagram showing how to deploy a platoon or a company for crowd dispersal operations. Which looks to look to the riot police to do the baton charge.

Both parts give space to the need to keep proper records. So, for example, Appendix W of Part 2 offers some headings for an Internal Security Incident Report. So we have five parts with 16 subjects to be considered for inclusion in the first. All very proper considering the sensitive nature of operations of this sort - although one wonders how much the chaps on the ground actually bothered with this side of things.

Happily, we have largely extricated ourselves from unpleasant duties of this sort.

Reference 3 is much thinner, not bound in substantial boards and altogether much more benign, seeming to be mainly about the attendance at parades and camps required of volunteers that they may be regarded as efficient. I have not read it carefully enough to learn what happens to volunteers who are regarded as inefficient.

For burial tomorrow.

PS: correction: reference 1 talks of early 20th century book binding. It should have talked of mid 20th century book binding - by which time, the Falklands aside, there were no new imperial adventures: extrication from previous ones was, by then, the order of the day. Even if many thought that we were rather dragging our feet.

References

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2021/09/abbey.html.

Reference 2a: Keeping the peace: Part 1: Doctrine - War Office/9800 - 1963.

Reference 2b: Keeping the peace: Part 2: Tactics and training - War Office/9801 - 1963.

Reference 3: Third Middlesex Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers): Conditions of efficiency for officers and volunteers - Dighton G. Probyn, Capt., R.A, Adjt. 3 M.R.G.A.V, Brigade Headquarters, New Scotland Yard - May 1902. Superseding those published in January of the same year.

Reference 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dighton_Probyn. Not the same Dighton Probyn, but presumably a relation, one who earned a Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny, made general and ended up as an important courtier back in the old country. Not clear whether he was an Indian Army general or a substantive general. Snapped in India above.